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Rise in hospital complaints

By Hugh Fort
December 14, 2009

The number of complaints received by the struggling hospitals trust serving Bracknell rose this year by 20 per cent.

Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust received 462 complaints between March 2008 and March this year.

The rise puts the trust back exactly to where it was two years ago, after a drop in complaints last year.

A trust spokeswoman said in 2008 it had started a campaign to promote feedback from patients and visitors.

Figures are up 76 from the 2007/08 figures of 386 but exactly the same as in 2006/07.

Almost half, 224, were dealt with within 25 working days, with 163 solved outside the 25-day period and 13 completed outside the time limit with the consent of complainants.

However, nearly a third, 150, were dealt with outside the 25-day period without the consent of the people involved – and more than 15 per cent, 75, are still outstanding.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “As a trust we welcome any feedback we receive, whether this be in the form of a compliment, complaint, comment or suggestion, and in 2008 we started a campaign to increase the feedback we receive from patients and visitors to our hospitals.

“We have had more posters and leaflets displayed prominently, especially in clinical areas, and we have made feedback even easier, either via our patient relations department or through the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

“The feedback we receive is valuable to the trust, and helps us learn from patients’ experiences and act upon it.”

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I think they need to keep Heatherwood, but reinstate the A&E there. I live in Bracknell and travelling into Reading (the nearest A&E) can be a nightmare. Add in to that the fact that my boyfriend suffers from random allergic reactions (we don't know what to) which can occur in his throat, and it's quite scary to think that the nearest A&E would take a minimum of 30 minutes to travel to when there's not much traffic.

I'd been going to Heatherwood since I was 5 years old and never had a problem there. The only issue now is it's not getting enough funding and they're closing too many sections off.

Poor administration also costs the NHS a lot of money. They won't operate on some people because their condition isn't serious enough yet - instead they wait a few years for it to deteriorate, at which point they're also older and less healthy, meaning when they do go ahead with the operation it's more costly and higher risk. My father works for the NHS and has experienced this first hand.

CMA
15/12/2009 at 12:15

Heatherwood hospital is a waste of time personally, no A&E, poor staffing levels, awful facilities etc.

The authorities need to either use the hospital as it used to be OR get rid of it completly. As we all know the latter is the most probable as they are shutting down parts of the hospital each year.

As for gh comments I am not sure how you can like heatherwood rather than Wexham, the money put into Wexham is clear to see when you go there, new buildings, clean areas etc.

MPwannaB, Bracknell
15/12/2009 at 09:14

It's disgusting that Heatherwood appears to be being wound up in preference of Wexham and Reading hospitals. Heatherwood is an important part of the community and I personally would rather go there than either of the other two. The government need to stop frittering our money away on pencil pushing administrators and jobsworth consultants and health and safety people, and start spending it on facilities and trained medical staff. In short they should get Heatherwood and other local hospitals back on the map - the NHS isn't a business - it's about saving lifes and looking after the hard working people of this country.

The fact that the latest Great Hollands newsletter suggests that the government is trying to wind up the hospital on the quiet is infuriating; a petition against this exists on the number 10 website and I would urge any local residents to sign it. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ascothospital/

gh
14/12/2009 at 23:41

Perhaps people would complain less if the government stopped intefering and moving services out of Heatherwood and over to Wexham. Because of this, my nearest hospital is now Reading or Wexham - I personally think it's extremely important for Heatherwood to stay open, and if anything, expand the services it offers.

This petition has appeared on the number 10 website and I would urge anyone in the area to sign it and stop the government getting rid of Heatherwood on the quiet http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ascothospital/